Behavioral and Brain Sciences



Continuing Commentary
Commentary on Alex Byrne & David R. Hilbert (2003). Color realism and color science. BBS 26(1):3–21.

Physicalism without unknowable colors


Peter W. Ross a1
a1 Department of Philosophy, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768 pwross@csupomona.edu http://www.csupomona.edu/~pwross

Abstract

Byrne & Hilbert (2003; henceforth B&H) do not adequately explain how it is that phenomenal colors are physical colors, as their physicalism claims. This explanation requires more characterization of the relationship between the epistemology and nature of color than B&H provide. With this characterization, we can see that a physicalist need not accept unknowable color facts, as B&H do.